Scotophile Monday

Welcome back to Scotophile Monday! The following are selections of news snippets from selected Scottish news sources. All sources are credited. Enjoy!

Litter Police Patrol Glasgow Streets - In Body Armor

A force of 30 uniformed enforcement officers are now patrolling the streets of Glasgow to crack down on litter louts by imposing £50 on-the-spot fines. With body armour under their smart tunics (just in case...), they issued 120 fines in the first week - and the publicity got many others to think twice before dropping litter. Read more

One Less Munro to Bag

Peaks in Scotland that are over 3,000 feet above sea level are classified as "Munros" - after Sir Hugh Munro (1856-1919), who produced the first attempt at an exhaustive catalogue of such hills and mountains. From time to time, the list has been updated as a result of more accurate measurements. Mountaineers and hill walkers in the UK and from around the world, become enthusiastic "Munro Baggers", attempting to climb them all. Recently, there had been speculation that Foinaven in Sutherland might meet the requirements - a number of amateur surveyors claimed that it was above the required level. But this week surveyors commissioned by the Munro Society, using new satellite technology, checked the mountain - and found it was 12 feet short of 3,000 feet. Even though it's not a Munro, but a "Corbett" (between 2,500 and 2,999 feet. Read more

Nessie Captured on Video?

A lab technician from Yorkshire has claimed that he has shot a video of a black object, about 45 feet long, swimming at about 6mph in a straight line across Loch Ness. Described by a marine biologist and "Nessie" watcher as "some of the best footage ever seen", the video is to undergo analysis in the coming months. Read more

Bronze Age Cemetery Found on Barra

Researchers on the TV Channel 4 archaeology programme "Time Team" have uncovered a Bronze Age cemetery on the island of Barra in the Western Isles. Over 50 archaeologists and a television crew undertook a three-day dig at the Allasdale sand dunes and uncovered 4000-year-old burial kists (small stone boxes used as coffins), some containing perfectly preserved skeletons. Read more

Badger Badger Badger Badger...

THEY come out at night and upset your bins... No, it's not the local gang of hoodies, but Britain's heaviest land carnivore, the badger. While hoodies just get slapped with Asbos when they step out of line, the poor old badgers - despite being a protected species - are facing a cull as the government attempts to eliminate bovine TB. Show the critters you care on National Badger Day, next Saturday, by joining a fundraising walk or by making a donation at http://www.badger.org.uk/.
This article: http://heritage.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=898842007

Scottish Wildlife Web Cams

Get the best view of Scottish wildlife. Click here

Scots Gaelic Film Screened at Cannes

A Gaelic language film made on the Isle of Sky, which was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival, has secured UK distribution and so should be seen by a wider audience. Entitled "Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle" it is the first-ever Scottish Gaelic feature film. It tells the story of a young man who visits his Grandfather in hospital. Angus wants to find out the truth about the death of his parents and the truth behind his Grandfather's ancient, incredible, fearful stories. Stories from the whole swathe of Gaelic history of poisoned lovers, bloody revenge, water-horses and Spanish gold. His Grandfather hijacks Angus' life for one last time, leading him to one of Scotland's most treacherous mountains, The Inaccessible Pinnacle, and an ancient truth he never expected to find... See also http://www.seachd.com/.

This Week in Scottish History

June 10 1688 - James Francis Stuart born. In honour of the "Old Pretender", this is known as "White Rose Day" in Jacobite circles.
June 10 1719 - Battle of Glenshiel, Jacobites with Spanish assistance, and government forces clashed.
June 10 1727 - Death of King George I and accession of George II.
June 10 1768 - Construction of the Forth and Clyde canal started. It was to take 22 years to complete.
June 10 1903 - The floral clock in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, began operation - initially driven by clockwork and with only an hour hand. But it was the first of its kind in the world.
June 10 1939 - Sir Jackie Stewart, three-times world motor racing champion, born in Dunbartonshire.
June 11 1560 - Marie of Guise, widow of King James V and Queen Regent of Scotland, died.
June 11 1488 - Battle of Sauchieburn during which King James III died attempting to subdue a group of rebel barons.
June 11 1975 - First oil pumped ashore from British oilfields in the North Sea.
June 13 1831 - Birth of James Clerk Maxwell, first Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge University. He created the electromagnetic theory of light.
June 13 1975 - Rate of price inflation reached 25% in the UK.
June 14 1940 - Queen Mary, Aquitania, Empress of Canada, and Empress of Britain arrive in the River Clyde with the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops.
June 14 1946 - John Logie Baird, inventor of the first television, died.
June 15 1945 - Queen Mary leaves Greenock, taking nearly 15,000 GIs home to US.
June 16 1338 - Siege of Dunbar Castle by the English was raised.